Why Shubhanshu Shukla won’t return till July 14: The ‘high beta period’ holding Axiom-4 explained

Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla and the rest of the Axiom-4 crew including Peggy Whitson, Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski and Tibor Kapu, will return from the International Space Station to Earth on July 14, NASA said. The date has been decided keeping in mind the high beta period. 

"We are working with the station program, watching the Axiom-4 progress carefully. I think we need to undock that mission and the current target to undock is July 14 after the high beta period," Steve Stitch, Manager, NASA Commercial Crew Program said. 

The Axiom-4 mission, launched from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on June 25 aboard the Dragon spacecraft, docked at the ISS on June 26, completing a 28-hour journey. 

WHAT IS HIGH BETA PERIOD?

A high beta period for the International Space Station (ISS) occurs when the angle between its orbital plane and the sun is high, usually above 70 degrees. During this time, the ISS remains in near-constant sunlight, spending most of each orbit in daylight. 

This condition can lead to overheating and demands careful thermal management by NASA.

Shukla and his Axiom-4 crew have witnessed 230 sunrises aboard the ISS and travelled nearly 100 lakh kilometres in space after completing two weeks on the orbital laboratory.

AXIOM-4 MISSION

The Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crew successfully completed nearly 230 orbits around Earth. During this period, the team travelled over six million miles, according to a statement from Axiom Space.

Throughout their two-week stay on the space station, the crew engaged in a variety of activities. Shukla also interacted with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, held discussions with scientists at ISRO, and educational sessions with school students via HAM radio.

"From about 250 miles above the Earth, the crew spent their downtime capturing images and video, taking in the view of our home planet below, and reconnecting with loved ones," Axiom Space noted. These moments provided brief respite amid their demanding schedule.

The mission stands out for its expansive scope of over 60 experiments, spanning fields such as biomedical science, advanced materials, neuroscience, agriculture, and space technology. This represents the most research performed on a private astronaut mission by Axiom Space to date.

These scientific investigations are poised to significantly impact human space exploration and Earth-based life, with potential breakthroughs anticipated in diabetes management, innovative cancer treatments, and more efficient monitoring of human health.

"Every test tube, data point, and observation brings us one step closer to a global community living and working in low-Earth orbit and, eventually, beyond," Axiom Space stated.